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NASCAR Texas takeaways: Chase Elliott wins again in race of clashes and crashes

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FORT WORTH, Texas — Chase Elliott continued to show his early-season speed Sunday in Texas, two-stepping his way to victory lane with his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of 2026.

Elliott hasn’t won more than two races in a season since 2022, but he has led the way for Hendrick Motorsports so far this year. He is up to third in the point standings and has continued to show enough consistency to put him into championship contention as a potential top-three seed for the “Chase” — NASCAR’s 16-driver playoff — later this fall.

On a day when track position seemed to be significant, Elliott led more laps than anyone and was near flawless on the track while his team was equally so on pit road to maintain that crucial track position.

Elliott’s win snapped Toyota’s streak of three straight wins on non-drafting 1.5-mile tracks going back to September, when Elliott won at Kansas Speedway. In that race, Toyota dominated, but contact among the race-leading Toyotas in the final corners allowed a hard-charging Elliott to sneak through to snag the victory.

The win Sunday was both Elliott’s second of the season and second at Texas Motor Speedway.

“I have not been a huge fan of this place, and I’ve made that very obvious, but we continue to work hard,” Elliott said. “… We’ve not been where we wanted to be throughout portions of the season, but everybody’s just been digging in really hard — from the engine shop at Hendrick Motorsports to all the setup shops and everybody at Team Chevy.”

Similar to Kansas, another track of the same size, Denny Hamlin drove his Toyota to a second-place finish on Sunday. Alex Bowman finished third for the second consecutive week, with championship points leader Tyler Reddick and Texas native Chris Buescher completing the top five.

Kyle Busch intentionally wrecks John Hunter Nemechek

Kyle Busch ran in the top 10 for much of the day and had a shot to finish there in his first race with new crew chief Andy Street, but he threw his result away coming to the white flag.

Busch was trying to squeeze in front of John Hunter Nemechek for 12th place, but was not clear, and the contact between the two sent Busch into the wall.

The two then went down the track, and once they got side-by-side entering Turn 3, Busch door-slammed Nemechek hard enough to send him crashing.

Nemechek’s wreck did not bring out a caution, and he limped home to a 21st-place finish while Busch finished 20th.

Neither driver could be found for comment after the race, but Nemechek posted on X: “not freaking clear. great day going. and just got wrecked. what an a–.”

Kyle Busch later posted on X his own version of events, placing blame on Nemechek.

“I did not start this,” Busch wrote. “The 42 apparently doesn’t know where the RS (right side) of his car is and where he is in relation to the outside wall. There was 2 ft outside him and I was judging my left side tires to the hash marks. Always know who your racing beside.” — Jeff Gluck

Christopher Bell’s hard luck continues

Christopher Bell endured a frustrating two races before Texas; he was running in the top 10 on the final lap at each race only to end up wrecked, costing him a pair of solid finishes and valuable points.

With as strong as the Toyotas have been on intermediate tracks, Texas represented a good place to bounce back and put the frustration behind. And that appeared to be precisely what was unfolding early Sunday, with Bell leading 22 laps and giving the appearance he’d contend for the win.

Such optimism was short-lived with his hard luck again rearing its ugly head. Just as Bell and second-place Hamlin came upon the slower car of Todd Gilliland, Gilliland lost control and started to spin, clipping the rear of Bell’s car. The contact sent Bell hard into the wall, causing significant damage.

“It was another one of those 50-50 calls,” Bell said. “Me and Denny were side-by-side, and I saw (Gilliland) spinning and Denny lifted, and I thought that I could shoot the gap on the bottom. And I thought I did shoot the gap on the bottom — but I got clipped.”

Bell finished 38th, last, and he’s now 56 points above the cutoff to qualify for the Chase playoff. With over half the regular season remaining and holding nearly a full race of points as a buffer, there is no need to panic. Still, for a driver who came into the year considered a viable contender to win the regular-season points title, that possibility is looking less and less likely.

“We don’t need to do anything,” Bell said when asked about his luck turning around. “I’m really thankful to have fast cars to drive, thankful to be driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, and thankful I get another opportunity next week. It’s going to turn around at some point.” — Jordan Bianchi

Ryan Preece clashes with Ty Gibbs

Shortly before the end of Stage 1, a seemingly displeased Ryan Preece voiced his displeasure with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs, with the RFK Racing driver telling his team over the radio that he was going to send Gibbs a message at some point.

“When I get to that 54 (Gibbs’ car number), I’m done with him,” Preece said. “F—ing idiot. That car is so f—ing fast, pisses me off. Stupid. … I can’t stand when idiots like him have fast race cars where they can do stupid s— and get away with it. End of rant.”

Not too long later, after Preece’s self-described “rant,” his moment of retribution appeared to come as Gibbs suddenly crashed into the wall. Although replays were inconclusive on whether Preece actually made contact, Shane van Gisbergen offered his perspective of what transpired, pointing the finger at Preece as the culprit.

“Holy s—, (Preece) just committed a murder!” van Gisbergen radioed his team. “It looks like (Preece) just full-throttled (Gibbs)!”

Gibbs was evaluated and released from the infield care center. When asked by Fox Sports about the incident, Gibbs said he had yet to see a replay and didn’t know what happened. — Jordan Bianchi

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The Premier League footballers studying to be sporting directors

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2 minutes ago

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September 30, 2026

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Awoniyi points to the “ups and downs” he has experienced as a footballer, referencing the serious injury he suffered in May 2025 when he was placed in a medically induced coma after rupturing an intestine in a collision with a goalpost when playing for Nottingham Forest against Leicester City.

To him, it is important to keep improving and to recognise there is more to life than football, which is where the Professional Footballers’ Association course comes in.

Awoniyi says: “It’s not like a 9-5 job in football. We go in and sometimes finish quite early and, although it’s challenging, I think every footballer has time in the evening for something like this business school.

“Of course, it demands a lot from you and it’s all about how willing you are to do it. I say to people there are a lot of things that are bigger than football.

“Yes, football is our passion, but we are normal human beings as well and maybe that’s something the world doesn’t always see.”

The graduates certainly appear no different from anyone else celebrating an academic achievement, exhibiting their pride.

Awoniyi has brought members of his extended family to the ceremony, while Dewsbury-Hall seeks out former Everton midfielder Tim Cahill, now working in Qatari football, to discuss the art of scoring goals.

“Obviously there are stereotypes around footballers,” Dewsbury-Hall says.

“But in every industry there are smart people and there are people who aren’t so smart. You’d be surprised how many intelligent people there are in football.

“Maybe some players just don’t want to do things like this, but they easily could. It’s just not their passion.

“I’m not saying this is my passion, but it’s something I’ve done to show that footballers can complete these kinds of courses while they’re still playing. Who knows where it will lead?”

The course is designed to run alongside a football career. Seminars are scheduled to minimise clashes with matches and training sessions.

Players can study in their own time, although Dewsbury-Hall says he has had some “weird looks” while studying on an iPad during journeys home from away games.

Every graduate has a different story.

For Wycombe Wanderers defender Steve Cook, who captained Bournemouth in the Premier League earlier in his career, the course marked a return to formal education for the first time since his school days. Having already obtained coaching badges, he knows he is approaching the end of his playing career.

Some may not actively use their newly gained expertise for many years. All will benefit in some way, though, believes Azpilicueta.

“It’s not only about preparing for life after football. It’s about becoming a better version of yourself in your football career as well,” the former Spain defender, who retired from playing at the end of last season, tells BBC Sport.

Education has been part of his life and is what helped him become a leader on and off the pitch.

Azpilicueta built a career after turning professional with hometown club Osasuna at the age of 17.

He had continued studying until that point and, after abandoning his degree when he became a professional footballer, he later returned to complete an MBA at Harvard University in the United States during his nine-year spell at Chelsea.

The desire to study before playing the biggest match of his club career, Chelsea’s Champions League final triumph five years ago, indicates how he balanced his two interests.

“Normally I’d have a nap after lunch if the game was later in the day, but that day it was impossible. You could hear the fans and you knew a big game was coming up. Having my studies also helped me focus and improve myself away from football,” he explains.

After ending his playing days with Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, Azpilicueta says he will not be rushing into his next role.

The PFA course includes sessions from prominent figures, such as Brighton chief executive Paul Barber, designed to help students understand how different areas of the football industry operate.

For now, many remain focused on playing football. But among this year’s graduates might be future coaches, executives and sporting directors who go on to influence the game in different ways.

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NFL Week 4 fantasy football rankings, starts, projections: Braelon Allen, Darren Waller and more

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9 minutes ago

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September 30, 2026

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Looking for start/sit help for your fantasy lineups? Jake Ciely has you covered with his always-updated player rankings for Week 4.

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Man City guilty charges: Which transfers did Premier League ‘sham’ help secure?

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14 minutes ago

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September 30, 2026

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A quick quiz question – what do The Wizard of Oz, Super Mario Bros 2 and the ninth season of Dallas all have in common?

Feel free to grab yourself a hot drink and mull it over for a moment.

Now for the answer.

If you figured out that the plots of all three never really happened – because in their endings it was revealed that they existed only in the dreams of one of the lead characters – then very well done indeed.

So do the guilty verdicts mean the Premier League seasons between 2009-10 and 2017-18 should now be considered a figment of our collective imaginations too?

City have until Friday to mount an appeal. If that appeal is unsuccessful, then, at some point, the club will be given some sort of punishment.

Whether sanctions will retcon the past in any way is unknown.

And about moving forwards? Right now football fans, both of City and other clubs across the country, do not know whether the football they are watching is ‘real’ or not.

Are City actually top of the league and in a title challenge, or will they be docked points later in the season?

If they are linked with another team’s star player, could that transfer happen or will they be unable to make deals at some point?

Will they be in the Premier League next season or will they be expelled and will there need to be a quite significant rejigging of the pyramid to accommodate them somewhere else?

And then there are questions about what comes later down the line.

Is anybody else breaking rules right now, which fans will only find out about in the future?

Does the potential for years of results to be retroactively kiboshed undermine the Premier League’s popularity with fans, players and sponsors?

And can the action fans are watching week in, week out ever fully be trusted again?

The answers to those questions will determine the future of the biggest league in the world’s most popular game.

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